There seems to be some interest in knwing the name of God.
And there are tons of suggestions.
In Judaism the name of God himself is not to be spoken. So they replace it with Adonai, which means Lord. (In fact there is El, elohim, JHWH, and others mentioned in scripture)
In Isalm there are 99 names of God, but they are more or less all names of functions.
In Hinduism there are a lot of Gods, who are known by their names.
In Bhuddism Gods play no major role
Christianity more or less follows the lead of Judaism with the additional name "Jesus" which is the "name above all names".
JW are a special group, members of which think that "Jehova" is the true name of God and should be used accordingly.
@Ponderable
I might just mention that there were also pagan temples to the unknown god, in case they had inadvertently left one out of their pantheon.
I posted this as well as other info on the name Jehovah on another thread.
Jehovah is the true God of the Bible, the Creator of all things. (Revelation 4:11) The prophets Abraham and Moses worshipped him, as did Jesus. (Genesis 24:27; Exodus 15:1, 2; John 20:17) He is the God, not just of one people, but of “all the earth.”—Psalm 47:2.
Jehovah is God’s unique name as revealed in the Bible. (Exodus 3:15; Psalm 83:18) It comes from a Hebrew verb that means “to become,” and a number of scholars suggest that the name means “He Causes to Become.” This definition well fits Jehovah’s role as the Creator and the Fulfiller of his purpose. (Isaiah 55:10, 11) The Bible also helps us to know the Person behind the name Jehovah, especially his dominant quality of love.—Exodus 34:5-7; Luke 6:35; 1 John 4:8.
The name Jehovah is an English translation of the Hebrew name for God—the four letters יהוה (YHWH), known as the Tetragrammaton. The exact pronunciation of the divine name in ancient Hebrew is not known. However, the form “Jehovah” has a long history in the English language, first appearing in William Tyndale’s Bible translation of 1530.
Why is the pronunciation of God’s name in ancient Hebrew unknown?
Ancient Hebrew was written without vowels, using only consonants. The Hebrew-speaking reader could easily provide the appropriate vowels. However, after the Hebrew Scriptures (“Old Testament&rdquo😉 were completed, some Jews adopted the superstitious belief that it was wrong to utter God’s personal name.
When they read aloud a scripture that contained God’s name, they substituted expressions such as “Lord” or “God.” As centuries passed, this superstition spread and the ancient pronunciation was eventually lost.
Some feel that the divine name was pronounced “Yahweh,” while others suggest different possibilities. A Dead Sea Scroll containing a portion of Leviticus in Greek transliterates the name Iao. Early Greek writers also suggest the pronunciations Iae, I·a·beʹ, and I·a·ou·eʹ, but none of these can be proved to be the pronunciation used in ancient Hebrew.
A Misconception: Translations that use “Jehovah” have added this name.
Fact: The Hebrew word for God’s name in the form of the Tetragrammaton appears some 7,000 times in the Bible. Most translations arbitrarily remove God’s name and replace it with a title such as “Lord.”
Another misconception: Almighty God does not need a unique name.
Fact: God himself inspired Bible writers to use his name thousands of times, and he directs those who worship him to use his name. (Isaiah 42:8; Joel 2:32; Malachi 3:16; Romans 10:13) In fact, God condemned false prophets who tried to make people forget his name.—Jeremiah 23:27.
Another misconception: Following the tradition of the Jews, God’s name should be removed from the Bible.
Fact: It is true that some Jewish scribes refused to pronounce the divine name. However, they did not remove it from their copies of the Bible. In any case, God does not want us to follow human traditions that deviate from his commandments.—Matthew 15:1-3.
Still another misconception: The divine name should not be used in the Bible because it is not known exactly how to pronounce it in Hebrew.
Fact: This line of reasoning assumes that God expects people who speak different languages to pronounce his name identically. However, the Bible indicates that God’s worshippers in the past who spoke different languages pronounced proper names differently.
Consider, for example, the Israelite judge Joshua. First-century Christians who spoke Hebrew would have pronounced his name Yehoh·shuʹaʽ, while those who spoke Greek would have said I·e·sousʹ.
The Bible records the Greek translation of Joshua’s Hebrew name, showing that Christians followed the sensible course of using the form of proper names common in their language.—Acts 7:45; Hebrews 4:8.
The same principle can be applied to translating the divine name. Far more important than the exact pronunciation chosen is that God’s name be given its rightful place in the Bible. a Tyndale used the form “Iehouah” in his translation of the first five books of the Bible. Over time, the English language changed, and the spelling of the divine name was modernized. For example, in 1612, Henry Ainsworth used the form “Iehovah” throughout his translation of the book of Psalms. When he revised that translation in 1639, he used the form “Jehovah.” Likewise, the translators of the American Standard Version of the Bible, published in 1901, used the form “Jehovah” where the divine name appeared in the Hebrew text.
The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Second Edition, Volume 14, pages 883-884, says: “Sometime after the end of the Exile, the name Yahweh began to be considered with special reverence, and the practice arose of substituting for it the word ADONAI or ELOHIM.”
Also one reason that most churches stopped using the name that was connected to the Father (Jehovah) is with the introduction of the pagan teaching called the trinity some 400 years after Jesus died, it could not work with that teaching. Jehovah's name did not fit with the teaching that God is 3 persons in one. The trinity is not a bible teaching........
@Ponderable saidLeaving aside a certain story by Sir Clarke, I have had some difficulty for years or decades re: how to address the Cosmic Personality (if there is one, and not just a Cosmic Intelligence).
There seems to be some interest in knwing the name of God.
And there are tons of suggestions.
In Judaism the name of God himself is not to be spoken. So they replace it with Adonai, which means Lord. (In fact there is El, elohim, JHWH, and others mentioned in scripture)
In Isalm there are 99 names of God, but they are more or less all names of functions.
In Hinduism ...[text shortened]... group, members of which think that "Jehova" is the true name of God and should be used accordingly.
"God" rhymes with "clod" and therefore seems wrong to me (albeit humble).
"Lord" seems both sexist and hierarchical in a parochial Earth way.
I really don't know what to do in that area, in case there really is a Cosmic Personality that could be addressed.
@Arkturos saidIn fact I think if we have a Good who created the universe and everything in it, they will be bothered about how people call them.
Leaving aside a certain story by Sir Clarke, I have had some difficulty for years or decades re: how to address the Cosmic Personality (if there is one, and not just a Cosmic Intelligence).
"God" rhymes with "clod" and therefore seems wrong to me (albeit humble).
"Lord" seems both sexist and hierarchical in a parochial Earth way.
I really don't know what to do in that area, in case there really is a Cosmic Personality that could be addressed.
@Ponderable saidI think ALL religions are 100% man made, well, occasional women, but HUMAN made. no god need apply.
In fact I think if we have a Good who created the universe and everything in it, they will be bothered about how people call them.
Which is not to say there is no god. It is a noticeably rather large universe and we humans would be very arrogant to say there IS NO GOD but that tells me said god, assumed to be all knowing, DOES know all about humans and is keeping 'hands' off and maybe just waiting around for humans to go extinct so something more able to shepherd the planet to make it more benign for life whereas what we are doing is just the opposite. Species going extinct right in front of our noses because we are so greedy and most don't give a rats ass whether any given species goes exinct or not.
WE are causing the largest extinction event since the biggie 65 million years ago.
@Ponderable saidI think there might have been a typo and a word-omission in your post, and in that case I would agree.
In fact I think if we have a Good who created the universe and everything in it, they will be bothered about how people call them.
But somehow I think that "Hey, You" or "Hey, Sparky" (for instance) would be rather impolite.
What's in a name but a sound?
How strange it would be, that God requires a physical substance such as air for the mediation of a sound that is supposed to convey an appellation, a designation, a label or name card—as if there were other gods about and the big "G" God needed some moniker to distinguish Him from "them."
And stranger still, whatever the name, it's in the language of God, which He invented Himself, and so is by definition arbitrary. If it were not arbitrary, then it must be that there is some deeper layer of significance to reality which God takes His cues from, and acts accordingly. But according to most scriptures, there is nothing deeper than God.
There is OM, or AUM. According to Hinduism and Buddhism it is the sacred sound that is the essence of the universe and all consciousness. That makes rather more sense, since the sound itself is tantamount to being the Creator, rather than a sound created by a Creator for purposes of designation.
@Soothfast saidFrom your fingers to the Eye(s) of G*d (or at least the eyes of our viewers at home).
What's in a name but a sound?
How strange it would be, that God requires a physical substance such as air for the mediation of a sound that is supposed to convey an appellation, a designation, a label or name card—as if there were other gods about and the big "G" God needed some moniker to distinguish Him from "them."
And stranger still, whatever the name, it's in th ...[text shortened]... ntamount to being the Creator, rather than a sound created by a Creator for purposes of designation.
@Ponderable saidSome years ago I was in a theater lobby before a stage performance of Chaim Potok's "The Chosen" (where they had some nice exhibits set up).
In Judaism the name of God himself is not to be spoken. So they replace it with Adonai, which means Lord.
I happened to overhear two older Jewish women talking about something, at the moment when one of them seemed to replace The Name with "You Know Who." ;-)
@Adolescent-Obsolescence saidBut that is not (and does not really involve) the name of G*d or of any god, really.
Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō